Organisers of the World Triathlon Multisport Championships have today confirmed the competition schedule and venues for the event set to take place in Townsville, Australia, from 15-25 August, 2024.
The 12-day event will include 19 World Championship races across five different levels of athletes, including Age Group, Para Triathletes, Junior, Under 23 and Elites.
Thousands of athletes from around the world will make their way to North Queensland for the event, with it being the first time the World Triathlon Multisport Championships have been held in Australia.
The World Triathlon Multisport Championships will see Duathlon, Long Distance Triathlon, Aquabike, Aquathlon, Cross Triathlon and Cross Duathlon World Championship races organised together, with all events to be held close to the centre of Townsville.
The Parade of Nations, Welcome Ceremony and Closing Function will all be held in the heart of Townsville on Palmer Street, with Check In, Merchandise and the Event Expo located in the Strand Park.
Racing will be split across two venues, with Duathlon, Aquathon, Long Course Triathlon and Aquathon to be based out of Jezzine Barracks, with Cross Triathlon and Cross Duathlon at Pallarenda Park. Both venues are within easy reach of the event hub at Strand Park, with Jezzine Barracks a 15 minute walk and Pallarenda Park a 15 minute drive.
The first day of competition is set to be Friday 16 August, with Duathlon Sprint races for Age Group and Junior athletes, and Duathlon Standard for Elite and Under 23, all to be held in the Jezzine Barracks precinct.
Sunday 18 August will feature Duathlon Standard for Age Group athletes, Duathlon Sprint for Para Triathletes and the Mixed Relay Duathlon, again held in and around Jezzine Barracks.
On Tuesday 20 August the action heads just north to Pallarenda Park, with the Cross Triathlon to be contested across Junior, Para Triathlon, Elite and Under 23, and Age Group categories.
On Thursday 22 August, the Cross Duathlon will be held in Pallarenda Park, with Junior, Para Triathlete, Elite and Under 23, and Age Group World Championship titles to be decided.
Racing returns to Jezzine Barracks on Friday 23 August with Aquathlon World Championship racing to be held across Elite and Under 23, Junior, Para Triathlete and Age Group categories.
The final day of racing at the World Triathlon Multisport World Championships Townsville 2024 is Sunday 25 August, with Age Group athletes in action in the Aquabike category, and Long Distance Triathlon for Elite, Para Triathlete and Age Group athletes.
Marisol Casado, World Triathlon President and IOC Member, said that World Triathlon was looking forward to bringing the event to Townsville.
“The World Triathlon Multisport Championships schedule has proven to feature a fantastic combination of events and activities for athletes and their friends and families,” said Casado. “We are thrilled to bring the event to Australia in 2024, a destination that has a strong history of hosting World Triathlon events at the highest level.”
Tim Harradine, Triathlon Australia CEO, said that the release of the schedule and venues was an exciting milestone.
“The excitement of our home Multisport World Championships continues to build in Australia and the release of the schedule and venues for the Multisport Championships is yet another milestone on the road to Townsville as planning for the event and qualifying gets well underway,” said Harradine. “The event schedule provides athletes plenty to race for over the qualifying season with the opportunity to compete in multiple championships in Townsville, one of the great drawcards of the multisport festival format.”
Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said that the City was excited to have the triathlon world heading its way next August.
“Townsville is delighted to welcome the World Triathlon Multisport Championships to our city in August,” said Mayor Hill. “This is a major coup for our city and to be the first city in Australia to host this prestigious event is a massive vote of confidence in Townsville’s ability to host world class sporting events.
“This event will be a boost to our economy, and we look forward to welcoming athletes, support staff and tourists to our City,” she said.
Leanna Ali, Regional Director for The IRONMAN Group Oceania, said that the event team was looking to welcoming athletes to Australia.
“We can’t wait to welcome the triathlon world to Townsville next August for what will be an incredible event over almost two weeks,” said Ali. “We’re set to have thousands of athletes and their supporters make their way to the region from all across the world and we look forward to celebrating the World Triathlon Multisport Championships with them and the local community.
“A highlight of next year’s event will be the fact that competition venues are all within easy reach of the centre of Townsville, allowing spectators to get close to the action and take in all the event has to offer,” she said.
The World Triathlon Multisport Championships made its debut in the World Triathlon calendar in 2017 in Penticton (Canada), a successful event that was followed by Fyn (Denmark) in 2018 and Pontevedra (Spain) in 2019. The event had to be cancelled in 2020 due to the impact of Covid and in 2021 was split in three different locations: Almere (The Netherlands) hosted the Long Distance and Aquabike races, while the Duathlon World Championships were organised in Aviles, Spain, and the Cross Triathlon World Championships took place in El Anillo, Spain.
The 2022 World Triathlon Multisport Championships took in Targu Mures and Samorin, Slovakia, while for 2022 the event will go back to its tradition set up of one location hosting all events: Ibiza, Spain, will host the Multisport World Championships from 29 April until May 7, 2023.
The World Triathlon Multisport Championships Townsville is supported by the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland and features on the It’s Live! in Queensland events calendar.
